Judaism in Anthropological Perspective Gerald F Murray

Judaism in Anthropological Perspective Gerald F. Murray

Definition of religion Religion is a cultural subsystem in which humans, under the guidance of leaders with specialized knowledge or power, engage in ceremonial activities to contact, please, placate, or otherwise influence one or another invisible spirit being.

Universal structures of religion • Invisible spirits • Sacred behaviors – rituals / ceremonies • Human guides and authorities ____________________ • Sacred words • Sacred objects • Sacred times • Sacred places

The physical and temporal stage • Traditional tribal religions have no historical “beginning”, except perhaps for the creation of the world. • Historical “founder” religions believe that the truth emerged in a specific geographical place at a specific historical time. • The proto-preparatory event -- the call of “Abraham avinu” – is placed in Mesopotamia some 4, 000 years ago. • The core foundational event – the giving of the Torah to “Moshe rabbenu” – is placed on the Sinai peninsula some 3, 300 years ago.

Temple Judaism and animal sacrifice • • • Animal sacrifice as a widespread pattern From spontaneous to centralized sacrifice. The temple as a sacred slaughterhouse Daily sacrifices of sheep. Why did God want animal sacrifice?

From Temple Judaism to Rabbinic Judaism • The local synagogue in Jewish history: the house of gathering. • Functions of the synagogue: prayer and the reading of the Torah • The kohanim managed the Jerusalem Temple. • The rabbis prevailed in the synagogue. • The two institutions were parallel. • With the destruction of the Temple, the synagogue and the Rabbi became the center of Judaism • Animal sacrifice was replaced by sacred texts and the qiyum mitsvot, the observance of commandments.

Sacred Texts • Not all religions have written texts. • Judaism is based on texts, as are: – Hinduism (the Vedas) – Christianity (the New Testament) – Islam (the Quran)

Sacred texts of Judaism • • • Torah (The 5 books. Pentateuch. Sefer Torah vs. Chumash) Neviim (Prophets -- e. g. Isaiah, Jeremiah) Ketuvim (Other biblical writings – e. g. Tehilim, psalms) Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara) Law codes (Shulchan Aruch, Mishneh Torah) Kabbalah (Sefer hayetsirah, Zohar, Tanya) • These are the sources to consult to find “what Judaism teaches” • “What Jews believe” may be different. But these are the authoritative sources

Evolution of the spirit world • Polytheism • Henotheism • Monotheism

The Spirit World of Judaism • • • Hashem (the unpronounceable name) Malachim (angels) Shedim (demons) Ha. Satan (the accuser) The human soul

Evolving images of God • • • The mountain God: Sinai / Horeb The desert God: Ark of the Covenant The God of animal sacrifice: Beit ha. Mikdash God of the universe: The exiled Israelites God the judge: the heavenly court The impersonal God of the Kabbalah

Anthropomorphic features of the Hebrew God • Anthropomorphic elements of the Biblical God – Body parts, gender, sense perception, emotion • Dwelling places of the Biblical God – The mountain Sinai / Horeb, the desert Tabernacle, the Jerusalem Temple • Social roles of the Biblical God – Warrior, King, Judge, Father, Husband

The impersonal God of the Kabbalah • The destruction of the Temple – threatened the concept of the localized God. • Contact with the Greeks – threatened belief in the anthropomorphic God • Conceptual life-boat: allegorization • The God of the Kabbala: – Sefirot: Emanations and the impersonal “Ein Sof” – Adam qadmon – retention of human body

Evolving theories of the human soul • Universality of beliefs in the soul • Clarifying the “afterlife” concept • Emergence of the “differentiated” afterlife: post-mortem reward and punishment.

Biblical images of reward and punishment • Sheol as the place of the dead in Biblical times. • Material rewards for good deeds: – Land offspring to nomadic Abraham – Rain, crops, livestock, food to agrarian Israelites • Drought, famine, enslavement, early death as punishment for transgression

The origin of heaven and hell • Zoroaster and the Persian connection? • The passage in Maccabees II – praying for the souls of the dead. • Resurrection of dead bodies, reuniting with souls. Techiyat hametim. • Evidence from New Testament passages.

Rabbinic Judaism and the afterlife • “Garden of Eden” as Heaven. • “The Valley of Hinnom” as Purgatory. – Gehinnom as a place of fire – Viewed as temporary • Ritual attention to the dead: – The Kaddish – The yahrtseit – The graves of Tsadiqim

The Kabbalah and reincarnated souls • Sources of Kabbalistic teaching • The doctrine of gilgul neshamot, the “recycling of souls” • The sefirot: Emanations of God • The damaged Universe • The damaged soul • The process of tiqun – repairing what is broken.

The commandments, the healing of the world, the healing of the soul • • Time as a sacred resource The home as a sacred place The body as a sacred temple The community as a holy people

Time as a sacred resource • • The sacred yearly cycles The sacred seventh day The sacred daily prayer times The probing of sacred texts

The home as a sacred place • • • The mezzuza on the door The saints on the walls The purified kitchen The holy books Beware of the T. V. and the internet

The body as a sacred temple • The regulation of food – The rules of kashrut • Forbidden foods • Other foods must be ritually clean – No eating without a blessing • The regulation of sexuality – – Strict religious endogamy, rules against intermarriage The rise of monogamy Sex restricted to marriage “Family purity” and the menstrual cycle

The community as a holy people • Rules of membership – Matrilineal descent – The process of conversion • Rules of conduct – The duty of tithing and tsedaqah – Watching one’s tongue. – The obligation of the prayer minyan

Unresolved tensions • External tensions – Israel or Palestine: Jews and Muslims – Jews and non-Jews in Western countries • Internal tensions – Jewish factions and “streams” – The role of the Jewish woman – Intermarriage and matrilineal descent